Upma, a vegetarian recipe from India

Name: Upma
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: 200 g medium semolina; 3 tbsp neutral oil; 1 tsp black mustard seeds; 1 tsp urad dal; 12 curry leaves; 1 onion, finely diced; 1 carrot, finely diced; 2 green chillies, split; 2 cm piece of ginger, grated; 600 ml water; 1 tsp salt; 1 lemon; Fresh coriander

Method

Dry-roast the semolina in a pan for 5 minutes over medium heat. It should smell nutty without taking colour. Set it aside.
Heat the oil in the same pan. Pop the mustard seeds, then add the urad dal and curry leaves.
Add the onion, ginger and chillies. Sweat for 3 minutes until the onion turns translucent.
Add the carrot and cook for 3 minutes more.
Pour in the water and salt. Bring to the boil.
Lower the heat and rain in the semolina with one hand while whisking with the other. Stir without stopping for 3 minutes.
Cover and let it swell for 5 minutes off the heat. Loosen with a fork, squeeze over the lemon and scatter coriander.

Dry-roasting is the step that decides everything: it dries the surface of each grain so they stay separate instead of clumping. Bansi rava, a medium durum semolina, holds its shape better than the fine semolina sold in supermarkets.

The techniques this recipe uses

Sweat the aromatics
Medium heat, no browning: the onion should turn translucent and sweet, not toasted.

Frequently asked questions

Why dry-toast the semolina first?

That step decides the texture. Five minutes over medium heat dries the surface of the grains so they stay separate instead of clumping. It should smell nutty without taking on colour.

My semolina goes lumpy. How do I stop it?

Rain it in with one hand while whisking with the other, into boiling water with the heat turned down, then stir constantly for three minutes. Tipped in at once it seizes immediately.

Which semolina should I buy?

A medium durum wheat semolina, rava bansi, holds up far better than fine supermarket semolina, which collapses into porridge. Note too that upma is therefore a wheat dish, not a gluten-free one.

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Upma

Method

The techniques this recipe uses

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Nutrition per serving

Frequently asked questions

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